Everyone has their own favorite island, but for families Naxos is hard to beat.

Thanks Heimdall!!!

What are your thoughts on Mykonos and Santorini from that island ...could you do day trips from this base???

Yes, from Naxos there are day trips to both Delos/Mykonos and Santorini. These are done by the excursion boats Alexander and Naxos Star. Both boats do the Delos/Mykonos trip 3 days/week, while the Santorini trip is only 1 day/week. The trips last about 10 hours for Delos/Mykonos and 12 hours for Santorini. There will be a fair amount of walking involved, so I'm not sure how your 4 y.o. and 2 y.o. will cope, especially in the heat of July.

Naxos, Paros or Antiparos would be a good islands to go to.

I wouldn't want to take kids that age to Santorini , cliffs without fences, etc. Naxos or Paros would be much, much better for a family. In fact, we preferred them to Santorini.. FYI, Delos was beastly hot in September.

If you are not focused on Cyclades, you may want to have a look on Lefkas on the Ionians, a very family friendly islands,especially around more low key towns/resorts such as Nikiana. The draw back is that most family friendly beaches are mostly pebbly. Sandy beaches are to be found on the windy/wavey side of the island, frequented mostly by windsurfers. There can be some compromise though if you look on places such as Vassiliki gulf. Two important draws to Lefkas comparing to other islands for me are 1)Its very reasonable rates and 2)Its easy connection to mainland. So if you are willing to hire a car for a day or two,, you could explore deserted small coves on western Greece for a quick deep and visit numerous sites and towns (Vonitsa, Ancient Nikopolis/Preveza,even Ioannina or Parga). An other thing that for me is positive especially on July (others may think differently) is that except maybe Nydri which attracts lots of UK visitors, Lefkas is an island favored first of all of Greeks and then of many diverse nationalities, from Italians to German and from Serbs to Finish lol So this adds to a lively ambiance which is both local and cosmopolitan rather than feeling like a X-nationalities resort.

I'll have to agree with parosblue and HappyTrvlr. While it is possible to visit Mykonos and Santorini from Naxos, it would probably be a miserable day for a family with small children. Both trips involve several hours at sea in boats that pitch and roll in rough seas. The Mykonos trip includes half a day on Delos, a wonderful archaeological site, but no shade, and blazing hot in July. I wouldn't worry too much about your children falling over the cliff on Santorini, but the caldera side is packed with cruise ship passengers in the summer, while the other side of the island has beaches made of black volcanic grit which get hot enough to burn your feet if you aren't wearing sandals.

Paros would be a pleasant day trip for your family. You can take a ferry from Naxos to Parikia, the main port for the island. Conventional ferries take an hour, while highspeed ferries are only about 30 minutes. From Parikia you can sightsee in the town or swim in one of the harbor beaches. There is an excellent bus service to other parts of the island, and connections to Antiparos.

Another idea would be to ask the excursion boat crews on Naxos if they can drop you off at Naoussa or Piso Livadi when they pick up passengers on Paros. This would work for Alexander, which leaves Naxos first and stops on Paros 45 minutes later, doing the reverse at the end of the day. Naoussa is a beautiful old fishing village, now a bit touristic, but has some beautiful beaches that can be reached by taxi boat from the harbour. Piso Livadi is a small port on the eastern side of the island, with buses that can take you to many long sandy beaches.

Mariha has a good point. I was focusing on the Cyclades, but there are many islands in other parts of Greece suitable for families. In fact, you don't have to go to an island at all, as some of the best beaches in Greece are on the mainland. If you rent a car you could drive through the Peloponnese, ending up in Lakonia or Messinia on the southern coast. This area has many beautiful seaside towns and sandy beaches, but doesn't get the high winds that sometimes affect the Cyclades in July and August. The Peloponnese has many historic sites, mountains that are snow-capped in winter, and traditional towns and villages.

I second Paros and Naxos for children (especially Naxos).

We holidayed in Tolo on the mainland (south of Athens and close to Nafplio) when our little one was 3 and loved it - the apartments we stayed in were called Heliotopos and they were very basic but with a pool and were perfect for us.

Thank you so so so much for your help but it looks like we won't be going to Greece since we are driving it's just too hard to get here and back with the two kids. I am very disappointed but I really do feel it's best